‘Riverdale’ Season 4: Shannen Doherty Joins Luke Perry Tribute, Kerr Smith Cast as Principal

Meredith Jacobs July 21, 2019, 3:20 pm

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Riverdale SDCC casting — Kurt Iswarienko; Courtesy of WBTV

Riverdale is doing something special in the Season 4 premiere to honor Luke Perry.

Executive producer Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa announced at the CW drama’s San Diego Comic-Con 2019 panel that Perry’s longtime friend and former costar Shannen Doherty will be guest starring in a “special role” in “Chapter Fifty-Eight: In Memoriam.” The episode “will reflect Luke Perry’s enduring legacy and the indelible imprint his character, Fred Andrews, had on Riverdale.”

Aguirre-Sacasa revealed that Perry had wanted his Beverly Hills, 902010 castmate to appear on the show since the first season.

“They were such good friends, and when we were putting together this tribute episode, we wanted to make it as special as possible, and so we asked Shannen to do a pivotal, super-emotional role,” the EP continued. “She read the script and immediately said ‘yes.’ It’s very impactful.”

It was also announced at the panel that Kerr Smith will be recurring as Riverdale High’s new principal, Mr. Honey, beginning with the second episode, “Chapter Fifty-Nine: Fast Times at Riverdale High.” Aguirre-Sacasa described his character as “a bit of a hard-ass who takes a harder line with the students this year, especially with the seniors.”

The previous high school principal, Weatherbee (Peter Bryant), drank The Farm’s Kool-Aid in Season 3 and presumably “ascended” with the others. Kevin (Casey Cott) said he was left behind to explain what happened.